No differential responsiveness to face-to-face communication and video call in individuals with elevated social anxiety

Background: Individuals with social anxiety reportedly prefer online communication over face-to-face communication. However, no study has directly compared the cognitive and affective responsiveness to face-to-face communication and video call in individuals with social anxiety. Thus, it is still unclear whether online video call is advantageous for individuals with social anxiety. Methods: This study recruited 500 Japanese workers who had used video call applications for a business purpose to retrospectively rate the levels of subjective anxiety, distress, self-focused attention, and attention to the speech content experienced during face-to-face communication, video call, and audio-only call. Results: Individuals with elevated social anxiety showed higher levels of anxiety, distress, and self-focused attention than the healthy control in all three ways of communication. Social anxiety did not moderate the effect of the communication mode. Limitations: Retrospective recall method may have caused bias in the responses. Self-reported assessment of social anxiety symptoms may also limit the generalizability to clinical populations. Conclusions: Individuals with elevated social anxiety might feel similar levels of anxiety both during face-to-face communication and online video calls. Impairments related to online video calls in individuals with elevated social anxiety should also be addressed.